Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensing and more particularly to an improved trigger operated aerosol dispenser.
Description of the Related Art
An aerosol dispenser comprises an aerosol product and an aerosol propellant contained within an aerosol container. An aerosol valve is provided to control the discharge of the aerosol product from the aerosol container through the fluid pressure provided by the aerosol propellant. The aerosol valve is biased into a dosed position. A valve stem cooperates with the aerosol valve for opening the aerosol valve. An actuator engages with the valve stem to open the aerosol valve for dispensing the aerosol product from the aerosol container.
Some aerosol dispensers incorporate an articulated trigger for actuating the aerosol valve for dispensing of the aerosol product from the aerosol container. The following U.S. patents are examples of the trigger operated aerosol devices of the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,995,308 to Ashkenaz discloses a jet stream dispenser which may serve as a closure for a container of volatile refrigerant used for inducing local anesthesia or analgesia in minor surgery.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,138,331 to Kutik discloses a spraying device adapted to be fitted upon the top of a pressurized or spray can to spray the contents thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,232 to Joffe discloses a dispenser for an aerosol container of the type having a dispensing valve that is adapted to dispense upon depression thereof. The proposed device provides a dispensing attachment that may be applied readily to a container after which the operation of some manual device such as a trigger, will effect the dispensing of the contents of the container in a controlled and effective manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,484 to Baldwin discloses an attachment for an aerosol container of the type having an annular shoulder encompassing a spray head. An inverted U-shaped jaw clamp has side legs with inturned flanges at lower ends underposed with respect to the shoulder. An actuator includes a portion extending transversely of the legs through apertures therein and is pivoted at one end to one leg and a superposed with respect to the spray head. A hand operated handle extends from said portion downwardly along side the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,905 to Kauder discloses a pressure container having an outlet valve actuated by tilting the outlet nozzle with a lever arm extending from the nozzle downwardly and outwardly in proximity to the container to facilitate one-hand operation. Also provided is a releasable locking member cooperating with the lever arm construction to prevent premature or accidental operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,942 to Morane, et al. discloses a dispensing cap for pressurized containers comprising a wall adapted to snap onto the top of the container. A movable member defines a duct adapted to seat on the outlet tube of the container valve and through which its contents may be ejected. A separable actuating member projects through the wall to actuate the movable member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,054 to Frutin discloses the valve of an aerosol can actuated by a lever having a handle portion and an intermediate portion bearing on a lock member. The lever is pivotably mounted in a clip. The lock member is in screw-threaded engagement with the valve for movement therealong between closed and open positions. The lock member can be placed in any intermediate position to set a desired flow rate through the valve when the lever is depressed by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,705 to Snell discloses a flow control apparatus for controlling the flow of a material from a container valve comprising a flow control member adapted to be mounted on the valve for rotation relative to the valve for adjustably positioning the flow control member relative to the valve and container and thereby adjustably setting a maximum permissible flow rate of material which can be dispensed from the container through the valve. A trigger is mounted on the container and pressed for moving the flow control member and valve stem to dispense material from the container. A ring is rotatably mounted on an annular rim of the container. The rim mounts the trigger so that it can rotate the flow control member. Rotation of the ring rotates the trigger, and in turn, the flow control member in an easy, safe manner without risk of possible injury to the fingers from contact with a stationary trigger support. The container is preferably necked at its upper end such that the annular diameter of the mounting ring on the annular rim of the container does not protrude outwardly of the cylindrical side wall of the container for safety and compactness in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,103 to Scheindel, et al. discloses a dispensing mechanism for a pressurized container employing a platform which sits on and engages the valve cap. A lever pivoted on the platform extends from its pivot point up and around the nozzle to terminate in the handle that is adjacent to the sidewall of the pressurized container. The upper portion of the lever engages the shoulder on the nozzle so that when the handle is manually squeezed against the sidewall of the container. The lever pushes down on the nozzle thus pushing the nozzle and valve in a downward axially direction thereby dispensing the pressurized contents of the container. It is when the nozzle is screwed into a dispensing state that the handle or the lever is pivoted away from the sidewall of the can so that it can be squeezed against the can to effect the dispensing of the contents.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,349 to Thompson, et al. discloses a hand-held pressurized product dispenser that includes a container with a hand-engageable body portion. A valve mechanism at the top of the container is movable with respect to the container to cause pressurized discharge of the product. A valve actuation lever is connected to the valve mechanism and extends along the container body such that a larger displacement of the end of the lever causes a controlled, relatively smaller displacement of the valve mechanism permitting adjustable “throttled” delivery of the product. Also disclosed are a product delivery member that is attached to the top of container and has a product holding structure that is positioned with respect to the valve mechanism to receive product and to hold the product in position for application. Cam members are oriented to cause the valve actuating lever to move downward as it is moved toward the container body. A movable stop member is carried on the container and faces the hand-engageable portion so as to limit travel of the hand-engageable portion toward the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,064 to Frutin discloses a dispensing apparatus for dispensing a product from a container including a product chamber within the container and a valve adjacent to the product chamber. A hinge assembly is secured to the opening of the container and to which is connected a nozzle assembly. A lever is attached by means of the hinge assembly. The nozzle assembly is rotatable between open and closed positions and includes an actuator portion provided with a cam surface which co-operates with a bearing portion on the lever such that, when the nozzle assembly is in the open position, operation of the lever causes movement of the actuator portion to open the valve and permit flow of the product out of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,532 to Lasserre, et al. discloses a dispenser unit comprising a housing and an actuator movable relative to the housing to cause the contents of two containers to be dispensed simultaneously in mixed or separate state. Each container includes a hollow stem through which the substance is dispensed when the stem is depressed. The dispenser unit includes a fluid-conducting member distinct from the actuator and including two hoods for engaging the two stems of the containers. Depressing the actuator causes the fluid-conducting member to actuate the stems and initiate dispensing of the contents into a single passage or two separate passages of the fluid-conducting member. The fluid-conducting member is movable within the housing for accommodating mismatch in heights of the stems. The actuator includes a single internal channel or two separate channels for receiving the container contents from the fluid-conducting member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,777 to Frutin discloses a dispensing apparatus for dispensing a product from a container including a product chamber within the container and a valve adjacent to the product chamber. A hinge assembly is secured to the opening of the container and to which is connected a nozzle assembly and a lever attached by a hinge assembly. The nozzle assembly is rotatable between open and closed positions. An actuator portion is provided with a cam surface which co-operates with a bearing portion on the lever such that, when the nozzle assembly is in the open position, operation of the lever causes movement of the actuator portion to open the valve and permit flow of the product out of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,916 to Groh, et al. discloses a hand-held pressurized product dispenser including a container containing a product under pressure and a valve mechanism and base structure at the top of the container. A nozzle moves between an unactuated position and a discharge position. A side lever extends along the can and is movable to move the nozzle from the unactuated position to the discharge position. The dispenser has a dome rotatably connected to the base structure and surrounds the nozzle and interacts with the nozzle to cause rotation of the nozzle between a locked position and an unlocked position. The nozzle has one or more downwardly directed feet that align with solid areas of an upwardly directed surface in the locked position and that align with open areas of the base structure in the unlocked position such that the nozzle is free to move into the discharge position.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,631,785 to Paas, et al. discloses a trigger actuator for a container including a recess defined by one or more walls that protrude downwardly surrounding an actuating button of an overcap of the container. The trigger actuator is attached to the actuating button. The trigger actuator further includes an aperture disposed in the recess above an outlet in the actuating button and a lever disposed on a side of the trigger actuator. Pressing the lever towards the container forces the walls defining the recess downward displacing the actuating button.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,641,079 to Lott, et al. discloses a cover and trigger assembly that includes having a valve that can be actuated for dispensing the contents of the can through an outlet of the valve. The assembly includes an annular component having a helical surface secured to the can. A cover is coupled to the annular component. The cover has an opening through which a trigger extends. The cover is rotatable relative to the helical surface on the annular component for rotatably raising or lowering the cover relative to the annular component. The raising or lowering of the cover respectively prohibits or permits movement of the trigger member to actuate the valve, thereby controlling dispensing operation of the valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,891,529 to Paas, et al. discloses a trigger actuator for a container including a recess defined by one or more walls that protrude downwardly surrounding an actuating button of an overcap of the container wherein the trigger actuator is attached to the actuating button. The trigger actuator further includes an aperture disposed in the recess above an outlet in the actuating button and a lever disposed on a side of the trigger actuator. Pressing the lever towards the container forces the walls defining the recess downward displacing the actuating button.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,959,040 to Heirman discloses a dispensing device for dispensing a product. The dispensing device comprises: a container containing the product under pressure. The container has a top, bottom and body portion. An axial direction is defined between the bottom and top. A valve mechanism is mounted at the top of the container. The valve mechanism is movable with respect to the container for pressurized discharge of the product out of the container. A dispensing cap is mounted on the top of the container. The dispensing cap carries a nozzle debouching outside the cap for spraying the product. The nozzle is connected to the valve mechanism by a conduit. An actuating member has a horizontal arm and a vertical arm. The horizontal arm is hingedly suspended in the cap and engages the valve mechanism to actuate the valve mechanism upon pulling the vertical arm towards the container portion. The body portion of the container has a lower portion and an upper portion providing a one-hand grip. The vertical arm engages at least one finger of a hand gripping the one-hand grip. The one-hand grip is constricted in its circumference with respect to the lower portion.
United States Patent Application No. 2003/0075571 to Thompson, et al. discloses a hand-held pressurized product dispenser that includes a container with a hand-engageable body portion. A valve mechanism at the top of the container is movable with respect to the container to cause pressurized discharge of the product. A valve actuation lever is connected to the valve mechanism and extends along the container body such that a larger displacement of the end of the lever causes a controlled, relatively smaller displacement of the valve mechanism, permitting adjustable “throttled” delivery of the product. A product delivery member is attached to the top of container and has a product holding structure that is positioned with respect to the valve mechanism to receive product and to hold the product in position for application. Cam members are oriented to cause the valve actuating lever to move downward as it is moved toward the container body. A movable stop member is carried on the container and faces the hand-engageable portion so as to limit travel of the hand-engageable portion toward the container.
United States Patent Application 2004/0256418 to Scheindel discloses an axially actuated valve assembly for use in a pressurized container that is easily actuated and controlled by a user to dispense the amount of product desired. The valve stem is moved in an up and down direction so that when dispensing, the user can control amount of the valve openings that are in communication with the material to be dispensed. The flexible boot surrounds the valve stem by having an upper edge that engages the valve actuating ledge and a lower edge that engages the button when in the non-dispensing state. The boot has a squared off lower interior edge engaging the stem and the button of the valve member when in the non-dispensing state. The button of valve is small in diameter and less than the surface of the boot that the button engages. The boot has a substantially straight thin wall neck below the upper edge. Two slits in the neck reduce hoop strength to facilitate outward bowing of the mark when the valve is depressed. The upper edge extends radially inward of the thin wall neck sufficiently to further assure outward bowing of the thin wall as the valve is depressed into the dispensing state.
U.S. Design Pat. D627,224 to Bass, et al. discloses an ornamental design for an overcap.
U.S. Design Pat. D635,854 to Bass, et al. discloses an ornamental design for an overcap.
Others have incorporated a locking feature for inhibiting the dispensing of the aerosol product from the aerosol container. The following U.S. patents disclose novel inventions incorporating a locking feature for inhibiting the dispensing of the aerosol product from the aerosol container.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,891 to Yerby et al. discloses an actuator for actuating an aerosol valve for dispensing an aerosol product from an aerosol container. The actuator comprises an actuator button being rotatable relative to a base for movement between a locked rotational position and an unlocked rotational position. The actuator button has a rigid sidewall supporting a rigid top actuating surface with an actuator button orifice defined in the sidewall of the actuator button. The actuator button is movable relative to the base for actuating the aerosol valve to dispense the aerosol product when the actuator button is rotated into the unlocked rotational position. The actuator button is inhibited from actuating the aerosol valve when the actuator button is moved into the locked rotational position.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,100,298 to Marquardt et al. discloses an actuator for actuating an aerosol valve for dispensing an aerosol product from an aerosol container. The improved actuator comprises a base for mounting to the aerosol container. A unitary actuator button supports a nozzle extending between the aerosol valve and a terminal orifice. The actuator button is rotatable about the base between a locked rotational position and an unlocked rotational position. The unitary actuator button is movable for pivoting the nozzle button to actuate the aerosol valve for dispensing aerosol product from the terminal orifice when the actuator button is in the unlocked rotational position. The unitary actuator button is inhibited from pivoting the nozzle button when the actuator button is rotated into the locked rotational position.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,127,968 to Yerby et al. discloses an actuator for actuating an aerosol valve for dispensing an aerosol product from an aerosol container. The actuator comprises an actuator button being rotatable relative to a base for movement between a locked rotational position and an unlocked rotational position. The actuator button is tiltable relative to the base for actuating the aerosol valve to dispense the aerosol product when the actuator button is rotated into the unlocked rotational position. The actuator button is inhibited from tilting relative to the base when the actuator button is moved into the locked rotational position. The rotational movement of the actuator between the locked rotational position and the unlocked rotational position is accompanied by a double click.
It is an object of the present invention to improve upon the above art to provide a trigger operated aerosol dispenser that provides a significant advancement to the aerosol dispensing art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a trigger operated aerosol dispenser including a non-articulated trigger actuator.
Another object of this invention is to provide a trigger operated aerosol dispenser that may be actuated either by a trigger actuator or alternately be actuated by a depression of a dispenser head.
Another object of this invention is to provide a trigger operated aerosol dispenser having a reduced number of parts.
Another object of this invention is to provide a trigger operated aerosol dispenser having a reduced finger pressure for actuating the trigger operated aerosol dispenser.
Another object of this invention is to provide a trigger operated aerosol dispenser that includes a lock for inhibiting actuation of the trigger operated aerosol dispenser.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention with in the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment of the invention.